Loving the BITE: Homemade Granola with Hemp Hearts

Our super awesome nutrition expert is still chilling out after giving birth to her baby girl last week, so I’m back again in this week’s Loving the BITE. One of the new favorite things for us to make here at home is granola. I used to eat it all the time when I was younger, but hadn’t had it for a long time.

But the difference between this granola and what I ate in the past is that this stuff is so much better and healthier than anything you’ll find in a store.

Homemade Granola with Hemp Hearts

Ingredients:

4 cups Oats

3 cups Rice Krispies

1/2 cup Agave Nectar (honey can be used if you can’t get this)

1/3 cup oil

2 teaspoons vanilla

1/2 cup Brown Sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Hemp hearts (3/4 to 1 1/2 cups…add to your liking)

Directions:

In a small saucepan mix together brown sugar, oil, and Agave. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat and add vanilla and cinnamon.

In a large bowl combine oats and sugar/oil mixture.

Stir until oats are well coated and everything is combined.

Spread into 2 9×13 pans.

Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.

Stir, turn off your oven, and put the granola back into the oven for 3-4 hours. The heat left in the oven will finish cooking this.

Remove from oven after 3-4 hours. Let cool and store in an air tight container.

Comments:

Hemp Hearts – I’ve been preaching about hemp hearts (also known as hemp seeds) for a while now. In my opinion it is the best super food out there today and something that everyone should add to their diet. They are actually easier to come by in Canada then the US, but available at Whole Foods and other health type stores. I recommend buying them from Amazon because they carry many of the Canadian brands and the cost is very nice as well. I could go on and on about how great this stuff is, but for now I’ll just include this list of benefits:

Agave Nectar – I’m also a fan of Agave Nectar as well….not as much as the hemp hearts, but I still love it. Agave can be used in pretty much anything you put sugar or honey in. I personally use it to lightly sweeten my oatmeal and tea, and in most things that we bake here at home. It has a favorable glycemic profile as its sweetness comes mainly from a complex form of fructose called inulin. Due to its low glycemic index, it gives you that sweet taste without the “sugar rush” and spike in blood sugar levels.

Allergy Free – A lot of people have nut allergies so another benefit to this recipe is that it’s 100% nut free. A lot of granola you’ll find in the stores either has nuts or “may contain nuts” so this is a nice way to keep it safe for anyone in your family with nut allergies.

Because Hemp Hearts are free of pesticides, herbicides, preservatives, eggs, nuts, dairy, soy, and gluten….they keep the granola free from all those allergies.

My question is other than juice, can you suggest modifications in lieu of table sugar for energy and hydration.

Answer:

Both raw/organic honey or agave can work great in the homebrew (substitute in the same quantities for the sugar, or to taste), but you do have to shake well in order to make sure they don’t settle out. Have you tried either of these? Also, make sure to use at least the minimum amount of salt recommended in the homebrew as the temps rise, you need the sodium replacement if you’re sweating.